E-Textbooks More Popular in Texas Schools, But Shift Will Take Some Getting Used To

Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Hilary Collins
July 28, 2010

When Kristin Bratsch couldn't find the textbook she needed, she decided to try an electronic version, a series of PDF files that she downloaded onto her computer. After completing the course Concepts of Fitness and Wellness, Bratsch, a student at Collin County Community College's McKinney campus, had mixed feelings about the e-textbook.

She said following along in it while watching video lectures was difficult, in contrast to regular textbooks that she could flip through. But she did like how easy it was to locate exact information by using the "find" feature in Adobe Reader.

Such ambivalence is not uncommon among students, who, while tech-savvy, aren't completely sold on e-textbooks. They, along with educators, say e-textbooks will have to overcome some of their weaknesses before they can truly become mainstream.

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Education Board OKs Use of Trust Fund for Charter Schools

Dallas Morning News
Terrence Stutz
July 24, 2010

A sharply divided State Board of Education opened the door Friday to tapping Texas' education trust fund for charter school buildings despite warnings the action could harm the fund. The Permanent School Fund--the second-largest education endowment in the country--is primarily used to purchase textbooks for children in public schools.

The decision could allow up to $100 million of the Permanent School Fund to be used to construct or purchase buildings that would be leased to some of the state's 460 independent charter schools.

All three board members from the Dallas-Fort Worth area opposed the decision, arguing the board had no authority to commit money from the $22 billion fund for a risky venture like charter schools. "This is a very irrational move to put our funds at risk like this," said Geraldine Miller, R-Dallas. "Real estate experts say this is a bad idea. This type of investment is totally unsuitable."

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INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FUNDING UPDATE

JULY 2010

Lawmakers will face severe budget shortfalls mandating difficult funding decisions when the 82^nd Texas Legislature convenes in January 2011.  The textbooks needed by Texas’ five million schoolchildren could be on the cutting block, even though budget cutbacks have already reduced funding for these required instructional materials.

Here’s an update on the current funding status of student textbooks:

Computers at Home: Educational Hope vs. Teenage Reality

New York Times
Randall Stross
July 9, 2010

Middle school students are champion time-wasters. And the personal computer may be the ultimate time-wasting appliance. Put the two together at home, without hovering supervision, and logic suggests that you won't witness a miraculous educational transformation.

Still, wherever there is a low-income household unboxing the family's very first personal computer, there is an automatic inclination to think of the machine in its most idealized form, as the Great Equalizer. In developing countries, computers are outfitted with grand educational hopes, like those that animate the One Laptop Per Child initiative. The same is true of computers that go to poor households in the United States.

Economists are trying to measure a home computer's educational impact on schoolchildren in low-income households. Taking widely varying routes, they are arriving at similar conclusions: little or no educational benefit is found. Worse, computers seem to have further separated children in low-income households, whose test scores often decline after the machine arrives, from their more privileged counterparts.

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The Medium Is the Medium

New York Times
David Brooks
July 9, 2010

Recently, book publishers got some good news. Researchers gave 852 disadvantaged students 12 books (of their own choosing) to take home at the end of the school year. They did this for three successive years.

Then the researchers looked at those students' test scores. They found that the students who brought books home had significantly higher reading scores than other students. These students were less affected by the "summer slide" - the decline that especially afflicts lower-income students during the vacation months. In fact, just having those 12 books seemed to have as much positive effect as attending summer school.

This study, along with many others, illustrates the tremendous power of books. Recently, Internet mavens got some bad news. Jacob Vigdor and Helen Ladd of Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy examined computer use among a half-million 5th through 8th graders in North Carolina. They found that the spread of home computers and high-speed Internet access was associated with significant declines in math and reading scores.

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Schools' Stimulus Spending Tough to Track amid Varied Reporting Rules

Dallas Morning News
Jessica Meyers and Karel Holloway
July 6, 2010

Alongside textbooks and technology, Texas school districts have doled out stimulus money to car dealerships, Atmos Energy and neighboring cities.

Why? It's hard to tell.

Districts must report whom they've paid when they spend at least $25,000 in stimulus funds, but don't have to say what they've purchased. Anything less than that doesn't require federal reporting. Districts applying for grants through the Texas Education Agency must show how they plan to use the money. Once they get the grant, districts need to explain how they spent the funds.

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Experts: Texas' Textbook Clout Inflated

Associated Press
Paul Weber
June 1, 2010

Pop quiz: Does the school curriculum adopted in Texas really wind up in textbooks nationwide? If you answered yes, you might get a failing grade.

As the second-largest purchaser of textbooks behind California, the Lone Star State has historically wielded enormous clout in deciding what materials appear in classrooms across the country. However, the influence of Texas on the $7 billion U.S. textbook market has steadily weakened.

Technology has made it easier and more affordable for publishers to tailor textbooks to different standards. Substitutions are an easy fix. And publishers won't gamble on incorporating one state's controversial curriculum into a one-size-fits-all product for other markets, said Jay Diskey, executive director of the schools division of the Association of American Publishers.

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Op-Ed: Textbook Purchases Getting Caught in Curriculum and Budget Debates

Austin American-Statesman
Katie Tobin
Texas Curriculum, Executive Director
May 27, 2010

Fiscal responsibility, whether in times of surplus or restraint, is a virtue. Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding the school curriculum for Texas students has obfuscated funding issues for instructional materials.

A May 18 American-Statesman editorial suggested that the State Board of Education should delay the purchase of new science textbooks. The state faces a severe budget shortfall, the Statesman reasoned, and withholding payment for new science instructional materials is one way to balance the state's checkbook and send a strong message to those who meddle with the curriculum.

But sending messages aside, it's imperative that schoolchildren not fall victim to budget battles and curriculum controversy. Texas must honor its commitment to provide students with the instructional materials needed to learn. And there is very little that is inexpensive about educating some five million Texas schoolchildren.

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Editorial: New Board of Education Could Fix Standards Next Year

Dallas Morning News
May 27, 2010

As expected, the State Board of Education passed a flawed set of social studies standards last week for Texas students. Also expected was the resulting firestorm of debate across the country.

By now, you've probably read that these social studies standards determine what goes in Texas textbooks. And Texas textbooks, because our state is such a large customer, end up being the template for other states' textbooks. That's why this matters everywhere.

But here's a little-known piece of possible good news: The standards approved last week need not be the last word. The board that comes into office in January, which should have two to three more moderate memebers, could revise them, if the new board moves fast.

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New Science Textbooks for Texas Schools on Hold as State Anticipates Budget Shortfall

Dallas Morning News
Terrence Stutz
May 19, 2010

Students will have to hang on to old science books for a year or two longer because of the state's budget crunch. State Board of Education members Tuesday reluctantly decided to postpone action on new science books for schools, a move that will temporarily save up to $500 million.

Board members will still seek money from the Legislature next year for new English and reading textbooks - totaling $495 million - and $393 million for continuing contracts for educational materials.

High school students will have to take new end-of-course science tests - in biology, chemistry and physics - beginning in the spring of 2012
under a state law passed three years ago.

Those exams will be based on the new curriculum standards, and several board members expressed concern Thursday that students will be tested on material that was supposed to be covered in the new science textbooks - which now won't be available for three to four more years.

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New Science Textbooks Face Budget Snag

Austin American-Statesman
Kate Alexander
May 16, 2010

The $1.4 billion price tag for new science textbooks and other materials has been causing sticker shock among state officials bracing for the upcoming shortfall. So, the State Board of Education on Tuesday must decide whether to push ahead despite the cost or delay the textbooks for at least a year to save the state money in the 2012-13 budget shortfall.

The $1.4 billion would pay for much more than science textbooks, including ongoing contracts for instructional materials and books for new students.

Getting the updated science materials into the classrooms is paramount because students will be taking end-of-course exams based on the new science standards beginning in the 2011-12 school year.

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SBOE swamped by comments on social studies standards

Austin American-Statesman
Kate Alexander
May 10, 2010

The State Board of Education had received more than 20,000 public comments as of last week on the proposed revision of social studies curriculum standards.

That incomplete tally — the monthlong comment period ends May 19 — has swamped the 3,000 comments received during last year's debate of science curriculum standards.

The science debate reached a fevered pitch over how to teach evolution in biology classes and attracted widespread attention.

But it pales in comparison with the heat generated by the standards that will shape history, government and economics textbooks and courses for Texas' 4.7 million public school students.

"It's been much greater than we anticipated. Certainly much more than I have ever seen before," said Monica Martinez, managing director of the curriculum division at the Texas Education Agency.

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Electronic Texts Might Not Benefit Students, Education

Austin American-Statesman
Op-Ed
Geraldine 'Tincy' Miller, SBOE
May 1, 2010

Plans were discussed recently to replace printed textbooks with electronic ones in the state's public schools. Although some state leaders prefer moving in this direction, I would urge that it not be a top-down approach or a cost-shifting strategy for the state. And most important, I would insist that the quality of the materials be the central focus of any change.

Moving to an entirely electronic format is a major change for schools, and hardware becomes outdated much more quickly than textbooks. Is your laptop six or ten years old? By law, instructional materials must last at least six years.

The equipment is simply the means to access the content, and we must always remember that it is the content on the devices that is most crucial to our students.

Furthermore, some argue that free Internet options are available to answer the question of cost. However, free materials certainly do not necessarily live up to standards in which we would like our teachers to operate. Make no mistake about it: If we don't have quality content, the devices will simply be empty boxes.

To read Tincy Miller's complete Op-Ed, click here

Texas' Clout Over Textbooks Could Shift with Market

Education Week
Erik Robelen
April 22, 2010

With the Texas Board of Education expected to adopt controversial new standards for social studies next month, many observers and news outlets have emphasized that the action may have ripple effects that reach classrooms far beyond the Lone Star State. Texas has long been seen as having an outsized inlfluence on publishers' wares, because of the size of the market and the fact that it's among the 20 "adoption" states that identify lists of approved instructional materials for districts to use.

But publishing-industry officials and some consultants argue that its influence is often overstated.

"It's a bit of an urban myth," says Jay Diskey, the executive director of the school division of the Association of American Publishers. Companies, he said, have increasingly customized their textbooks and other instructional materials to meet the needs of individual states and districts.

To read the complete article, click here

Electronic Textbooks Feasible?

Letter to the Editor
Abilene Reporter-News
April 13, 2010

The Abilene-Reporter News published a Letter to the Editor questioning the feasibility of a
quick transition to electronic textbooks in Texas classrooms. Rose Williams of Abilene wrote
her letter published in the newspaper in response to Gov. Perry's call for a shift to electronic textbooks replacing all printed instructional materials within four years.

A teacher in Abilene for 33 years, Williams quotes Brownwood ISD Superintendent Reece
Blincoe as saying that his district had spent $1.2 million in local money and grants to give
students laptops that will become obsolete in four to five years.

She concludes that "the electric bill for a school entirely computerized is astronomical.
Completely outfitting every classroom for computer and Internet use is costly. Computers used all day, every day don't last long. Every student, including the poorest, would need a home computer. Is this a feasible plan?"

To read the complete Letter to the Editor, click here

Publishers Respond to Gov. Perry's Statement

Jay Diskey
Executive Director, School Division
Association of American Publishers
April 8, 2010

On behalf of the AAP's School Division, Jay Diskey issued the following statement today: "I applaud Governor Perry's support for advancing the transition to digital instructional materials for Texas students. There is no question that the classroom of the future will have a mix of digital and other learning materials."

"The transition to digital learning learning in Texas classrooms has the potential to prepare Texsa students to excel in the 21st Century. In order to fully realize this potential, careful attention must be paid to ensuring that Texas continues to provide its schoolchildren with integrated, high quality curricula, regardless of its format."

"I want to underscore the importance of ensuring quality educational content for Texas students in the midst of this transition."

To read the complete statement, click here

In Texas, Let's Champion a "Digital Evolution" Instead of a "Digital Revolution"

Karla Christman
Immediate Past-President
Textbook Coordinators' Association of Texas
April 8, 2010

As Immediate Past-President of the Textbook Coordinators Association of Texas, I commend Gov. Perry's leadership and vision in advocating for the transition to technology in Texas classrooms. This transition to technology is an exciting, dramatic step forward.

However, the rush to digital must not neglect what is paramount: providing the highest quality instructional materials for Texas students. In Texas, let's champion a "digital evolution" instead of a "digital revolution."

To read Karla Christman's complete statement, click here

Perry: Texas Should Move to Online Textbooks

Associated Press
Kelley Shannon
April 8, 2010

Gov. Rick Perry proposed Wednesday that Texas abandon using traditional textbooks in public schools and replace them with computer technology.

"I don't see any reason in the world why we need to have textbooks in Texas in the next four years. Do you agree?" Perry asked participants at a computer gaming education conference in Austin.

To read the complete Associated Press article, click here

Editorial: Safeguarding the Textbook School Fund from the Skim Is Imperative

Texas Insider
April 5, 2010

On March 12, 2010, the State Board of Education announced that the Texas Permanent School Fund is now valued at $22.2 billion, up from $18.1 billion in December 2008. Why is this significant? Because the Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF) provides the funding that the state uses to purchase instructional materials for all students attending public school in Texas, as the Texas Constitution requires.

Despite the PSF's "economically healthy" status, several threats exist that would reduce the amount of PSF-funding made available to the state to purchase constitutionally-mandated instructional materials for students.

Legislators must champion the right of every child to have access to effective learning materials and be wary of siphoning resources away from basic student knowlegde.

To read the complete Texas Insider Editorial, click here

SBOE UPDATE: Of Thomas Jefferson & "Open Source" Textbooks

Texas Insider
Geraldine "Tincy" Miller
March 31, 2010

The State Board of Education passed four amendments clarifying the open-source issue when we met for our March meeting from March 9 through 12, 2010 . These amendments further define the open-source issue and place more stringent parameters on the materials.

The first amendment requires each textbook to be fully accessible on the Texas Education Agency's website for public review at least 60 days before a vote is taken, and a public hearing must be held.

The second amendment requires the group that produces open-source materials to comply with all regulations that the textbook publishers follow.

To read about the third and fourth amendments to the open-source issue and the complete Texas Insider article, click here

Reports of Texas Determining Textbook Content for Students across the Nation Are an "Urban Myth"

Texas Tribune
Brian Thevenot
March 26, 2010

As the media attention surrounding the State Board of Education's revising social studies standards exploded nationally in recent weeks, a primary narrative has emerged: that whatever Texas' SBOE members decide will be published in textbooks nationwide for years to come. Textbook publishers, however, conclusively correct this persistent myth.

Though Texas has been painted in scores of media reports as the big dog that wags the textbook industry tail, that's simply no longer true--and will become even less true in the future, as technological advances and political shifts transform the marketplace, said Jay Diskey, executive director of the Association of American Publisher's School Division. Diskey calls the persistent reports of Texas dominating the market an "urban myth."

To read the Texas Tribune article, click here

Outside Texas, Alarm Over Textbook Changes

Los Angeles Times
Richard Fausset
March 22, 2010

When Texas' State Board of Education voted for new social studies standards this month, parents, teachers and lawmakers far beyond the Lone State state took notice. Observers have warned that those new standards could seep into textbooks throughout the country, because Texas is one of the nation's largest textbook buyers.

But it is far from clear that non-Texans will be subjected to the proposed changes, once they are finalized, as expected.

Publishers have grown accustomed to regularly printing different textbooks to conform to different states' needs, according to Jay Diskey, executive director of the Association of American Publisher's School Division. The new Texas standards, he said, won't change that. "It's gotten to be an exaggeration, if not an urban legend, about how curriculum in Texas automatically hops state lines," he said.
 
To read the Los Angeles Times article, click here

Top-Notch Educational Content Remains Crucial: Publishers Respond to Statesman Article

Texas Curriculum
March 11, 2010

Publishers today responded to the March 10 Austin American-Statesman article, "Texas' Influence on Textbooks Could Wane - Budget Woes, Technology Advances Make Battles over Book Content Less Important" with a Letter to the Editor.

While commending the Statesman's front page coverage of this critical issue--the transition to digital instructional materials in the classroom, the Letter to the Editor also underscores the importance of ensuring quality educational content for Texas schoolchildren in the midst of this transition.
 
To read the Statesman article, click here

To read the Letter to the Editor, click here

Let's Make Texas School Kids Post-Election Season Winners: Tincy Miller Defeat Could Put Funding in Peril

Texas Insider
Jim Cardle
March 3, 2010

When voters headed to the polls for yesterday’s March 2nd Primary, most were focused on the choice immediately in front of them: which candidate to vote for on the ballot.
 
Funding for Proclamation 2011 – the $495 million that has been set aside to purchase instructional materials for the state’s five million public school students – one can safely assume, played little or no role in how yesterday’s voting decisions were made. 

The 82nd Texas Legislative Session begins in January 2011, and convening lawmakers will be faced with budget shortfalls mandating difficult choices. Unfortunately, Texas schoolchildren are especially vulnerable to the consequences of these budget cuts. 

SBOE to Consider Tighter Rules to Monitor "Open Source" Textbook Issue

Texas Insider
Geraldine "Tincy" Miller
February 1, 2010

AUSTIN - Last week, the State Board of Education (SBOE) met for the first time in 2010.  It was an exciting meeting with a very packed agenda, and consequently we were not able to complete everything.  For instance, the Board had planned to consider a tighter set of rules to help the Texas Education Agency monitor the “Open Source” Textbook issue, but due to the constraints on time, we elected to wait until the next meeting to discuss it.  

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Perry has his allies in "Race to the Top" debate

Amarillo Globe-News
January 24, 2010

AUSTIN - When it comes to public education issues, Anette Carlisle does not always see eye to eye with Gov. Rick Perry and other state leaders.

But Carlisle, president of the Amarillo Independent School District Board of Trustees, agrees that Perry was right to decide Texas wouldn't compete for a federal education grant that could have brought as much as $700 million to cash-strapped school districts in the state.

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Perry won't let Texas compete for federal school money

Houston Chronicle
January 13, 2009

Texas will not compete for a potential $700 million in federal grant funding for schools, Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday, because it could give Washington too much say in deciding what the state's students should learn.

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Texas Must Proceed Carefully with Open Source Materials and Curriculum

Texas Curriculum
January 11, 2010

In 2010, Texas school districts will be faced with new open source textbook materials,
also known as online content. The transition to digital content represents a dramatic
step forward for Texas classrooms. But the same oversight, review and regulation that
the state has always used with print materials should apply to digital and online content
as well. To continue reading, click here

Click here to learn about Innovations in Reading Instruction

Click here to learn about Publisher-Developed Instructional Programs

Click here to learn about New English as a Second Language Materials

"Open Source" Textbooks Are Reason for Grave Concern

Texas Insider
Geraldine “Tincy” Miller, SBOE Dist. 12
December 18, 2009

The week before Thanksgiving, the State Board of Education (SBOE) met for its November meeting and a number of issues were covered that were of great importance. Many of these issues are nearing critical decision points which are scheduled for our upcoming January & March SBOE Meetings.

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State Considers Open-Source Rulemaking

The State Board of Education (SBOE) has limited presence

HB 2488 gives the SBOE limited oversight. The same rules do not apply to open-source textbooks as they do with traditional instructional materials.

Texas is a state that strives to review their curriculum standards and have the very best instructional materials available in the classroom. Why should open-source textbooks be treated any differently?

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State Considers Rules for Technology Purposes

Diverts instructional materials funding to purchase technology

HB 4294 allows state allocated textbook funds to be used to purchase technological equipment.

The state textbook fund is designed to deliver instructional content, both in print and electronic formats. In many cases, content is already delivered by publishers in both print and electronic formats, which enables school districts to make flexible and informed choices on classroom implementation.

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State Board of Education